48
169. In its jurisprudence, the Court has developed the concept of pecuniary
damage and defined the situations in which it is proper to award this.108
170. According to the Commission, in determining pecuniary damages, the efforts
undertaken by the next of kin of Ramón Mauricio García Prieto to obtain justice and
the damage to the family assets and property as a consequence of the constant
threats and harassment should be taken into account. The common intervener
requested that the Court order the State to indemnify the victims under the following
concepts: a) “consequential damages”; b) “lost wages”, and c) “moral damages.”
171. In the Court’s judgment, the concepts cited by the common intervener in
points a) and b) should be analyzed under the concept of pecuniary damages. Point
c) will be analyzed under the concept of non-pecuniary damages. Thus, the Court
will now examine the requests made by the common intervener with respect to
pecuniary damages in accordance with the aforementioned.
172. The common intervener argued that an award based upon consequential
damages should be based upon the following: a) the loss of burned properties
belonging to the García Prieto Giralt family, for which the State should pay for the
damages to those properties beginning at the moment of the serious intimidating
events; b) the expenses incurred as a result of the heart problems suffered by José
Mauricio García Prieto Hirlemann which were a consequence of the anguish and
suffering generated from the moment of Ramón Mauricio García Prieto’s homicide,
for which the common intervener requested that an award be established in equity,
given that the family did not retain receipts for the expenses incurred as a result; c)
expenses incurred by the family in order to guarantee their safety given the risks to
their lives and personal integrity. The common intervener indicated that because the
family has been subjected to “threats, harassment, and incidents in which they were
followed” for more than twelve years, they have had to increase their security
measures. These measures included measures to secure their home and the
employment of personnel. As a result, the common intervener requested that the
Court order a sum in equity given that they did not retain receipts for these
expenses.
173. This Court has held in other cases109 that it is appropriate to grant an amount
for expenses incurred by victims or their next of kin as a consequence of the
violations of human rights declared by the Court whenever these expenses have a
direct causal nexus with the acts declared as violations, and are not expenses related
to obtaining access to justice, since the latter are considered as repayment for
“expenses and costs” and not as “compensation.”
174. In light of the violations declared in section VIII of the present Judgment, the
Tribunal finds that the reparations ordered in this forum should refer only to those
violations upon which the Court has ruled. When the Court establishes an amount in
108
Cf. Case of Aloeboetoe et al. v. Suriname. Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 10,
1993. Series C No. 15, paras. 50, 71 and 87; Cantoral Huamaní and García Santa Cruz, supra note 10,
para. 166. Case of Zambrano Vélez et al., supra note 10, para. 138; and Case of Escué Zapata, supra
note 10, para. 132.
109
Cf. Case of the Serrano Cruz Sisters, supra note 76, para, 152; Case of Escué Zapata, supra note
10, para. 136; Case of Bueno Alves, supra note 34, paras. 193 and 194; and Case of the Yakye Axa
Indigenous Community v. Paraguay. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment June 17, 2005. Series C No.
125, para. 194.
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